Reaching For You
by Amieku
Summary: Misaki's fame continues to grow, but so do her fans. However, it's not her fans Kotaro's worried about, it's Ohjiro. And the only way to get closer to Misaki than Ohjiro is...to play Angelic Layer himself!


Alright, I'm finally posting this story! a looong while back, I had a few cute Angelic Layer stories in mind, and this is one of them XD I also wanted to write at least one fanfic for every anime I like...but so far this is my only fanfic that's not Naruto...oh well.

Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Angelic Layer.

* * *

Reaching For You

"I WANT TO PLAY ANGELIC LAYER!" I exclaimed, accidentally voicing my thoughts aloud. Everyone turned to stare, and embarrassed I stared down at my lunch. Why did I have to make such a fool of myself all the time, especially in front of Misaki?

Just for You

To Protect You

To Keep You

I'll Do Anything

Kotaro sat in the crowd glowering, despite the fact that Misaki had just won another match. It wasn't that Kotaro wasn't happy for her; he couldn't be happier to see the beautiful smile she wore after each of her triumphs. No, what he couldn't stand was the attention. Misaki's prodigious feats had caught the eyes of one too many overly obsessive _male_ fans. However, the worst of all was not a fan, but a comrade of the layer, an opponent: Ohjiro Mihara.

Ohjiro was there now, down in the layer congratulating Misaki while _he_, Kotaro, was restricted from entering. Each time Misaki smiled or laughed with Ohjiro, an unpleasant, yet increasingly familiar emotion flooded through Kotaro. Now he recognized the discomfort he had felt while watching Misaki's rise to fame; the feeling Tamayo had always teasingly accused him of having: jealousy.

It was a silly distasteful emotion, Kotaro decided, but he felt it nonetheless. So in this manner, Kotaro watched Misaki's latest victory.

Beside him, the ever-present Tamayo grinned. Kotaro's jealousy was becoming more and more obvious—she didn't even feel the need to point it out anymore—but that didn't mean she couldn't tease him. With the sly grin on her face growing ever-wider, Tamayo pounded Kotaro heartily on the back.

"My, my Kotaro-chan! Misakichi and Ohjiro-kun* look rather _close_ don't they?" she exclaimed loudly.

Kotaro jerked his head up suddenly. "So it bothers you too?" He asked, his expression stern, but his voice hopeful.

Tamayo merely smiled, though it did nothing to comfort Kotaro. It, if anything, caused him more discomfort, which of course, was her purpose. He had hoped Tamayo might share his jealous feelings, seeing as Ohjiro was _her _boyfriend, but then again, the two had a strange relationship.

xxx

After the match, Kotaro met Misaki at the food court, where once again, she was chatting with Ohjiro, completely carefree. Narrowing his eyes, Kotaro walked forward to confront the two, and behind him Tamayo followed, a mischievous smirk etched across her features.

"Misakichi!" Kotaro called, and immediately she turned to face him, an expression of utter bliss on her face.

"Kotaro-chan!" Despite himself, the boy blushed, victim to her irresistible charm. Misaki ran forward, throwing her arms around him. Ohjiro chuckled, and immediately Misaki flushed and loosened her hold on Kotaro. "Did you see my match?" She asked shyly.

"Of course he did!" Tamayo announced her presence, promptly smacking Kotaro. "And just between you and me, Misaki, I think Kotaro was a little J-E-A-L-O-U-S!"

"Eh? R-really, Kotaro-kun?" Misaki turned to face her boyfriend, or rather, the spot where her boyfriend should've been. Instead what she saw was his back quickly receding into the crowd.

"I'll get us some lunch!" Kotaro called over his shoulder, inwardly relieved to get away just in time. Sighing, he shook his head. It was only a matter of time before Tamayo tried to embarrass him again, but at least for now he had escaped…only to realize his mistake after reaching into his pocket. After a brief search, Kotaro swore quietly—he only had enough money for one lunch, so he'd have to go back. How stupid.

"Mind if I join you?" Startled, Kotaro whipped his head to the side, trying to identify the owner of the voice. To his right, Ohjiro smiled. "It's only me." Kotaro nodded in greeting, unable to bring himself to smile at this…this—what had Tamayo called him? Oh yeah, his rival.

"I know you said you'd buy us lunch," Ohjiro continued, "but I insist that I treat you." The angelic layer champion said with a smile, holding up his angel card. "Besides, you seemed to be having a tough time."

Kotaro met his smile with a defiant stare, more annoyed than relieved that Ohjiro had saved him from embarrassing himself again. Ohjiro strode forward to take his place in line without hesitation, leaving Kotaro to fume.

xxx

The two boys returned with to their dates food in hand, where Tamayo eagerly dug in, and Misaki politely tapped the spot she'd saved for Kotaro.

"Thank you Kotaro-kun." The girl said with a soft smile, and Kotaro couldn't help but smile in return. Lunch resumed uneventfully, but Kotaro remained concerned with Misaki and Ohjiro. And not just Ohjiro, but all those fans…they were ridiculous! Misaki was already being flooded with fan mail, and now that he thought about it, she was extremely popular at school too. Kotaro never thought he'd admit it, but Tamayo was right! Something had to be done to protect Misaki. He couldn't sit around and watch anymore, but what could he do? The only thing that would stop the flood of fans would be for Misaki to lose her fame…and that was out.

If only he was famous too, then no one would dare bother Misaki. If only…he was like Ohjiro. Kotaro frowned. What a disgusting thought. But then again, he didn't have to be _exactly_ like Ohjiro, if he could just get closer to Misaki, like Ohjiro was. And he could do that by playing…

"I WANT TO PLAY ANGELIC LAYER!" Kotaro exclaimed, accidentally voicing his thoughts aloud. Tamayo and Ohjiro stopped, their conversation interrupted, and stared at Kotaro curiously. The boy flushed, immediately glancing down, and muttering a muffled 'sorry.' Silently he chastised himself, thoroughly embarrassed. Hesitantly, the boy stole a glance at Misaki, worried about her reaction.

Slowly lifting his head, Kotaro recognized Misaki's expression as one of utter joy and surprise. Before he could begin to interpret it, she grabbed his hands, and stared into her boyfriend's eyes passionately.

"Kotaro-kun you should have told me earlier!"

"Err, wha-?" was the best he could manage.

Misaki smiled widely. "I'm so happy! Kotaro-kun wants to play Angelic Layer!" The girl declared to no one in particular. "It'll be so much fun! I've always wanted to play with you, Kotaro-kun!" The boy recovered enough to smile. Misaki's reaction was a bit of a shock, and holding hands with her face so close made him light-headed, but overall it was nice. After all, she was his girlfriend; it shouldn't be so surprising right?

"We can start right away if you want!" Misaki rambled on, lost in complete bliss. Kotaro's declaration had united her two favorite things, Kotaro-kun and Angelic Layer, and now she couldn't control her excitement. "I don't have any more matches today Kotaro-kun, so let's go shopping together and buy you an angel!" Kotaro nodded. This just kept getting better and better. Misaki had just asked him on a date without even blushing. He'd never seen her this excited to be with him; normally she was much more shy.

Misaki grabbed his hand to pull her boyfriend to his feet, and Kotaro stood in awe of how forward she could be. "Tamayo, Ohjiro-kun, see you later!"

"See ya, Misaki. Be sure to have lots of fun on your _date_!" Tamayo waved her grin uncannily similar to the Cheshire cat. Misaki flushed at the term, glancing nervously at Kotaro. He squeezed her hand gently, and shot Tamayo an angry look. So much for Misaki's excitement.

xxx

"Go Syaoran!"** Kotaro urged his angel forward, still adjusting to the controls. It had taken him a lot longer than Misaki to get the hang of it, but she was patient with him nevertheless. They were practicing together now, Misaki using Hikaru to teach fight moves.

Kotaro's angel Syaoran rushed forward, beginning a series of karate forms to try to break Hikaru's defense. Misaki couldn't help but admire her boyfriend's angel as they fought. _Syaoran is so cool!_ She gushed, analyzing the angel's movements. Kotaro was a speed-type angel, like Hikaru, but he was heavier than Hikaru and had more strength. His appearance reminded Misaki of Kotaro. Syaoran had golden brown hair, and dark brown eyes. His clothing included a black sleeveless shirt, black loose-fitting cargo pants and a dark green cloak. He was almost—Misaki blushed at the word—_attractive_.

Suddenly Syaoran dealt a blow that knocked Hikaru to the ground. Misaki started, turning her full attention back to the game. She couldn't be distracted now; it was her job to teach Kotaro. However, her boyfriend had just as much trouble concentrating. Kotaro had already let Syaoran drop many times today, because of his divided attention.

Kotaro couldn't understand how Misaki did it. Even when Misaki was focused on something else, she still maintained enough attention on Hikaru to keep her angel standing. Kotaro, however, would lose focus almost every time Misaki addressed him to give pieces of advice, and to his great annoyance, Syaoran would fall over again. He was getting better, but Syaoran still fell occasionally.

"Try jumping backwards to avoid attacks." Misaki mentioned as Hikaru struck Syaoran's crossed arms. "You still get a few damage points when you block an attack, but it's better if your opponent misses entirely." She smiled at Kotaro, who nodded briefly without looking up, trying to hold his concentration. To his surprise, Misaki's smile transferred to Hikaru. The angel smiled kindly at his own angel, and Kotaro found himself beginning to blush.

He almost expected Syaoran to fall from a lack of attention, but instead Kotaro found his angel's cheeks were slightly pink. Even his angel was blushing?! Now Syaoran's face held a bewildered expression, and Kotaro realized it was the same as his own. So his angel was merely copying his own expressions…no wait, it was receiving signals from him. Just like Misaki had explained earlier, the angel, Syaoran, would copy the deus, Kotaro's, commands. Which seemed to include subconscious actions like blushing. Great.

As the fight continued, Kotaro began to notice new details. Like how Hikaru's determined expressed was almost as cute as Misaki's, and how, despite her fighting experience, Misaki's subconscious habits came through Hikaru. It also occurred to him how close Hikaru and Syaoran were most of the time. Angels were just like small versions of a deus right? So it was almost like he got close to Misaki by getting close to Hikaru. Maybe. Maybe this was all stupid, and he should just focus on the fight.

"Now!" Misaki uttered quietly, and Kotaro realized she was moving in for a final blow. He tried to dodge, but realized there wouldn't be enough time. Purely through instinct, Kotaro urged Syaoran to grab the arm Hikaru was punching with, move slightly to the side, and let momentum carry them both to the ground. Hikaru thudded to the layer floor heavily, and Syaoran easily reached for her other arm and pinned the Misaki's angel to the ground.

"Aw. I guess you won Kotaro-kun!" Misaki exclaimed, happy for his victory, rather than disappointed at her loss. But Kotaro froze, seeing the angels' positions too realistically, as if it were he and Misaki there. He could almost feel the Syaoran's sensations, having Hikaru/Misaki pinned beneath him; the lines between the two blurred. Once again instinct ruled Kotaro's mind, and Syaoran's lips pressed against Hikaru's in a gentle kiss. When the angels' lips parted, Misaki and Kotaro both gave an involuntary gasp. Kotaro's gaze snapped up from Hikaru to Misaki and found the girl staring back at him, face thoroughly flushed. Both angels immediately dropped as the pair quickly broke their gaze in embarrassment.

"I-I guess you w-won, Kotaro-kun!" Misaki stuttered, removing her helmet, and fiddling with it timidly.

"Y-yeah. I guess so. Hehe, cool…my first time." Kotaro mumbled, also removing his helmet and avoiding eye contact.

Misaki's fingers flew to her lips as she repeated the phrase. "First time." Hesitantly, she went on, "w-well, it wasn't really a first time…just our angels…"

"Would you like it to be our first time, Misaki?"

The girl's blush spread. "If's it's okay with Kotaro-kun…" she looked up, "...yes." Slowly, the boy stood and removed his helmet. Kotaro stepped toward Misaki, his legs feeling like jello and his stomach churning. He leaned forward awkwardly, toward Misaki's lips, and froze. Misaki stared at Kotaro anxiously, her face the shade of a tomato...

_Attention players. Your session has timed out. Please exit the arena. To continue playing..._

The couple jumped as the speaker interrupted Kotaro's attempted kiss. He jerked away in embarrassment. "Hehe, I g-guess we better go."

"Y-yeah..." Misaki nodded, staring intently at the floor. In mutual agreement, the two silently packed up their equipment, saving the two angels for last.

* * *

"Ahahaha! Misakichi, you two are too funny!" Tamayo choked out, in the middle of her laughing fit. Misaki, face beet-red, tried to quiet her friend.

"I-it's not funny! We j-just-!"

Tamayo grinned, her eyes damp from mirth. "I still can't believe it! Your first kiss was between your," Tamayo sniggered, "...angels!"

"I-I-I have to go buy groceries!" Misaki lied, making a hasty retreat from Tamayo's giggles. The blonde girl stared after her, shaking her head. "That girl is just too cute. Too innocent." Then something else dawned upon her and Tamayo chuckled evilly. "That Kotaro! I'll need to have a talk with him."

* * *

*In the manga, Tamayo calls Ohjiro "Ohjiro-san," but I figured since they started going out, "-kun" is more suitable. Then again, I'm still just kind of guessing at the suffixes.

** Syaoran, the name of Kotaro's angel, is also a character in CLAMP's Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and Cardcaptor Sakura. Since Hikaru is named after a character in Magic Knight Rayearth, I thought it'd be fun to name Kotaro's angel after another CLAMP character.

* * *

Okay! What did you think? I really wanted to keep this one K rated. ...hopefully nothing seemed suggestive. It wasn't supposed to...

R & R please!


End file.
